Rattler, Ex Parte Bruce Joseph

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
• Decided: March 9, 2005
• Docket: AP-75,109
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

OF TEXAS

NO. AP-75,109 EX PARTE BRUCE JOSEPH RATTLER, Applicant

ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

CAUSE NUMBER F-0250865 IN THE 194TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

DALLAS COUNTY

Per Curiam.

O P I N I O N

This is a post-conviction application for a writ of habeas corpus forwarded to this Court pursuant to Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 11.07. Applicant was convicted of the felony offense of possession of a controlled substance, and punishment was assessed at 40 years imprisonment. Applicant appealed, and his conviction was affirmed. Rattler v. State, No. 05-03-00427 (Tex. App. -- Dallas, delivered December 15, 2003, no pet.).

Applicant contends that he was denied an opportunity to file a petition for discretionary review because his appellate attorney did not timely notify him that his conviction had been affirmed. The trial court, based upon an affidavit from appellate counsel, recommended that relief be granted. The record reflects that counsel did not timely inform Applicant that his conviction had been affirmed because Applicant had been assigned a new identification number and transferred to a different unit within the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Thus, he did not receive counsel's otherwise timely letter informing him of the opinion by the court of appeals.

Habeas corpus relief is granted, in part, and Applicant is granted leave to file an out-of-time petition for discretionary review from his conviction in cause number F-0250865 from the 194th Judicial District Court of Dallas County. Applicant is ordered returned to the point at which he can file a meaningful petition for discretionary review. For purposes of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, all time limits shall be calculated as if the Court of Appeals' decision had been rendered on the day the mandate of this Court issues. We hold that should Applicant desire to seek discretionary review, he must take affirmative steps to see that his petition is filed in the Court of Appeals within thirty days of the date the mandate of this Court has issued.

DELIVERED: March 9, 2005

DO NOT PUBLISH